Yesterday I happened to see a link to a blog by Ming Thien, who, from what I can see, is a well-respected photographer and reviewer of photo equipment. In one particular blog, he gives thumbnail reviews of dozens of cameras, some complete with a photo of the camera.

To make a long story short, I was dismayed by his terse and largely negative review of Panasonic's GH3 which I reprint here in its entirety:

"Panasonic GH3 (Feb 2013, 6/10) – Great image quality – same sensor as the OM-D – and very fast AF; so-so, hollow-feeling build quality and a terrible UI and button layout. Terrible EVF due to poor quality optics; the add-on LVF2 for the GX and LX series cameras is much, much better, and neither matches the clarity of the OM-D. The target market of videographers are bound to be unhappy as rolling shutter artefacts are terrible. Personally, I just couldn’t get along with this camera – it felt more like a consumer appliance than a photographer’s tool."

Honestly, Mr. Thein is completely right with his judgement. The view finder is indeed the worst of the current mirrorless cameras and that alone is enough to lower the ranking significantly. The ergonomics of the camera is not as great as it looks at first hand. The buttons near the shutter demand more finger acrobatics than the often criticized play and Fn1 buttons of the E-M5 and the FN buttons to the right of the display interfere too much with the display frame. The large wheel at the back side is not comfortable to operate, because it is buried into the back side rubber. For a mirrorless camera, it is for the taste of too many potential buyers too bulky.

In summary, Mr. Theins review is the best review of this camera, I know of, because it tells the truth about it.

Ming gives the GH3 a 6/10 rating, the same rating he gives the Canon SD780IS point 'n' shoot camera.

I wonder how much time he actually spent shooting with the GH3? And I can understand that after playing with Canon 1DsIII's and Nikon D4's all day that a GH3 in comparison can feel somewhat of a lightweight, but a "hollow-feeling build quality?"

I have owned cameras since I was 5 years old, and the GH3 is one of the most solidly-constructed cameras I've ever owned. And as for the much-argued-about EVF, the one on my GH3 is very sharp, bright and clear.

Not to take away from Ming's expertise, because he seems quite knowledgeable, but the GH3 sure feels like a "photographer's tool" to me.